A number of proposals have been advanced over the years for forming weft-knitted fabric so that it approaches a woven construction. Examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,923,151, 732,434, and 130,866, and British Pat. No. 239,261. Such prior art proposals have commonly combined at least one knitted end with warp and weft or filling ends to produce a woven structure simulation, but in every case, insofar as I am aware, these prior proposals have either employed weft at only one side of the warp or have caused warp or weft ends to be knitted-in or captured within the loop structure of the knitted ends. As a result, the previously proposed knit fabrics of this sort have been less like woven fabrics than is desirable or their formation has involved undue complication of the knitting means provided to produce them.
According to the present invention weft or filling is laid-in at both sides of warp while causing a weft stitch pattern to integrate the warp and weft without requiring either weft inlay to be knit-in, so that only the knitting end needs to be manipulated in order to form a simulated weave and the formation proceeds in a particularly simple and advantageous manner.